It All Began in Gym Class
by Samcyxk
Summary: But he never did help me. My eyes were closed, but I managed to grab something. At that moment, it seemed that all the air had been swept out of the room. Riku/Sora slash
1. The Beginning

"Do you expect me to do your crunches for you?" Saїx said rather loudly, so every soul in the gymnasium could hear him; even those not in his class could hear him, and they began to rapidly do the exercise, fearing the head gym teacher's wrath. The smell of sweat littered the room, and small wet spots had begun to pop up on the glossy floor. Earlier in the week, on Monday, someone had slipped on the free-throw line. All because Saїx had pushed everyone to, and beyond, their limits.

Hands behind my head, I pushed my abdomen again and again and again. A burning sensation had winded its way through my system, and the bright scarlet cheeks told the whole story. For at least two minutes straight we'd been doing these cursed crunches, and everyone doing them must have felt like they were going to faint.

Then, Saїx's voice rang out again. "You can stop for a minute and catch your breaths; then on the ground giving me 30!"

There was a chorus of hallelujahs and woo-hoos as everyone scrambled to the bleachers to take a seat and socialize for as long as possible. Wearily I hopped into the seat right next to Riku, my best friend, and Kairi, my sister.

"Hey, sloth," Kairi said, obviously meaning me. For, as everyone knew, I was the one who didn't really enjoy being physical; I'd rather sit and listen to Marluxia ramble on about each individual point in history. I'd much rather do one of Vexen's stupid experiments than run a mile. Nevertheless, I had to do strenuous labor to get an A, or face Mom and Dad's wrath.

"Yo, Riku," I said. "And you, sis…" Kairi giggled.

"You're _so_ down-to-earth, it's not even funny. Stop saying, 'yo.' Instead, how 'bout, 'Hey there, hoochie mama.'" Riku's face grew extremely red. "Uh…um…"

"Everybody!" Saїx called out. "Time's up! Get back on the floor and give me 30! Chop chop!"

As soon as everyone was getting worn out by their own arms, Saїx began to walk around the large gymnasium. He stopped by me, and I only noticed him when he said my name.

"Sora."

"Ugh…yeah?"

"You know what today is, right?"

"…No…"

"Today's the day we humiliate Larxene's class beyond compare." Saїx's eyes were alight. But how could I have forgotten about the baseball game we had all been looking forward to? The game where my class's team would prove that we were the best team at the school, and get a chance to face off against the teachers.

"Oh, yeah! Of course! I'm right field, right?"

Saїx smiled. "As always." He walked away, and I sighed. Today was going to be great, I just knew it. Larxene's class wouldn't stand a chance against us.

After about another minute, Saїx whistled shrilly. The noise almost made you think that a girl was screaming far away. "Alright, we're done. Now, those on the team may go change into the uniform. All those who are spectating can head up to the bleachers." About ¾ of the class went outside chatting. The rest of us began to head into the locker room.

From the next gym over came Larxene, decked out in joggers and barely even a bra. She was a woman who looked good with a partial six-pack and a beautiful tan. As she passed Saїx, her goldenrod hair seemed to be at odds with his midnight blue hair. "See you at the Field of Defeat," she said with a grin. Eyes closed, she strolled out the door with ¾ of her class following her.

"I've never liked her," Tidus whispered in my ear. "Seems a bit too pompous for my tastes."

"Who cares if she's pompous?" Roxas, my big brother, said with a huge grin. "She's one helluva looker, and that's enough for me." The team burst into laughter as we entered and got dressed in the uniform.

Next to me, Riku said, "You playing right again, I hope?"

"Yeah." I smiled. "And you're Mr. Center if there ever was one." I got a light punch on the shoulder for that one. Riku laughed. "Shaddup."

It didn't take long for us to get our stuff on and head up to the Field of Defeat.

It's called the Field of Defeat for a really good reason. About 7 years back, our school's ultimate team didn't beat the teachers, but _did_ get into the tournament. The tournament is only for the best. The first game of the tournament was played here: Us vs. Oblivion Junior High. We were the projected winners.

First inning, we got no runs; they got 5. Next inning, they got 3. Our defense was abhorrent, and our offense was even worse. We eventually lost by over 20 points, without scoring even one. From then on it was known as the Field of Defeat.

In the dugout was our team's captain, a guy by the name of Samcyxk. He acts all high-and-mighty, but I guess he kinda deserved it. The dude gets A's in all his classes, has a great sense of leadership, and is just a kickass baseball player.

"Alright. Larxene's team is based on offense. Has only a mediocre defense, but they're enough to stop others; offense is powerful enough to break through an average team's defense. Question is…

"Are we your average team?!"

"NO!" was the resounding answer. With a smug smile, he turned on his heel to go out with the other team's captain.

Coach Saїx and Coach Larxene stood on the pitcher's mound as Samcyxk and Tifa, the other team's captain, came out. There was a coin in Larxene's hands. Tifa called out, "Tails!" Larxene flipped. It landed on tails, so the opposing team had the ball first. I put on my glove. "C'mon. Let's show them what we're made of."

Our defense poured onto the field. We were ready to give it everything we had to win. As sweat rolled down my forehead, I couldn't help but smile about my shaking knees and rapidly-beating heart.

**Later on**

It all came down to this last pitch. Our team was ahead 5-3, and Larxene's team had 2 outs. Coach Saїx's eyes danced with both suspense and joy. It was apparent he was enjoying himself quite immensely. I couldn't say I didn't enjoy it either. We were one out away from the unbeaten teachers!

Tifa was up, and she had already hit two homeruns. She got into her stance as Samcyxk lined up for the pitch. "Swing, batta batta, swing." He threw the ball…

…And Tifa, being the beast she was, crushed it. Unfortunately for her, it went up. My head wanted to swarm, but I had to wait until the ball was caught. It flew in-between second base and center field. Roxas backed up as Riku inched forward. Then something weird happened.

It was as if the ball had gained a thousand extra pounds. It plummeted back down to the earth at a great velocity. When I saw big bro might have a bit of trouble, I did the same as Riku; come forward.

My brother jumped backwards, catching the ball; but it came out. I don't know if Riku was thinking or not when he lunged forward. He swatted, trying to get the ball; it ended up bouncing off of Roxas' stomach. Now, Riku caught my brother before he slammed into the turf. The ball was above the two.

That was when I sprinted towards it. I said a silent, quick prayer before leaping for the ball. Stretching out the glove, I realized it wouldn't reach. I had only a second to think; and I did. I did. I ripped the glove off to give myself another 6 inches. That was what I needed. I was pulled to the ground, sure, but the ball stayed in my glove. We had won!

There were screams of delight as Saїx's class began to party. Even Saїx himself yelled, "Hell yeah!"

We all headed back down to the locker room. As Saїx had said, "No champagne until all of you get dressed again."

Riku and I both had lockers right next to each other, and we were both ecstatic. "That was awesome!" Samcyxk called. "Everyone's gonna remember _that_ play for eternity!" There was whooping all over the room.

Samcyxk came over to us. He was sweaty, but looked like he had just slept. Not one sign of breathlessness, not one bit of red on his cheeks. "Sora! You played even better than Ichiro in that game. Right on!" He slapped my back, grinning with radiating delight.

"Yeah, that was freakin' amazing, what you did," Riku said. "I was on my stomach, but I saw what you did. You're insane, you know that?"

Taking off my shirt, I threw it to the ground. "Dude, what were you thinking, going after that ball?"

Riku took his shirt, stuffed it in his locker, and pulled his regular shirt out. "I guess I wasn't thinking. All I wanted to do was make sure the ball got caught. That sure was one weird play."

"You're telling me, Ri-WAAAAAHHHH!" Being the klutz that I am, I tripped over my own shirt. With a short wail, I began to fall forward.

"Hold on, Sora! I've got you!" It was Riku's voice.

But he never did help me. My eyes were closed, but I managed to grab _something_. At that moment, it seemed that all the air had been swept out of the room. Without really thinking, I squeezed what I had caught onto to see if it was sturdy. It felt…I dunno…weird. I opened my eyes. I was looking at Riku, but his head was higher off the ground than usual; his face was tomato-red.

Looking down, I could barely keep from screaming. I had grabbed Riku's crotch.

Notes from author:

Samcyxk – One of my Organization XIII OC's. Learn more about him in my fanfic "The Foundation" as it progresses

Age – Pretend all the students are around the 14-15 age range; teachers are the ages they look

Ichiro – Ichiro Suzuki, right fielder for the Seattle Mariners. Considered one of the best ever to play the position


	2. Aftermath

Not a word, not a single word in any language all around the worlds could describe my supreme embarrassment. I desperately wanted to pull my arm back, but it stayed there. For some odd reason, my hand had fallen in love with the texture of Riku's…yeah…

If Riku's face was as red as a freshly-picked tomato, my own face must be redder than the ripest watermelon. This would NOT look good if you weren't one of the ones standing next to the two of us when it happened.

Speaking of people standing next to Riku and me, I craned my head to get a look at Samcyxk; I immediately regretted it.

Samcyxk's left hand was raised in the air, his index finger stuck straight up. It appeared that he was about to say something before the……incident. Now his expression was as blank as Michael Jackson's girlfriends list. The boy's jaw hung agape in a rather odd shape, like it was on a hinge and said hinge had just been shattered. For I all knew, he could be dead where he stood since his chest and diaphragm were neither expanding nor retracting as air was allowed into the body.

As for me…the situation was even more awkward than Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. Not to mention being unable to wipe the drool flowing from my mouth; unfortunately, my other arm was immobile from pure shock, and it wasn't going to be able to wipe my chin, which had a considerably large amount of saliva covering it.

Turning back to Riku, I saw him mouthing something to me. I squinted, because it was unclear as to what he was attempting to communicate to me. It could've been either, "What the hell are you doing?" or "Get the hell off the twins!" Still, though, I couldn't move. The tingling feeling of comfort had rushed its way to my head, and now it felt like I was high. I had never been high, but had had it described to me.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I came to my senses…and smashed my head against a locker. A small bit of blood began to run from the injury but it served its purpose; the hand that groped Riku's goodies flew to my head to cradle it. I overdid the blow, and it seriously hurt. Now my mind swam even more so than before; it was coupled with the pain as well as the previous situation…I would take the pain over what had happened only moments before.

There were footsteps. Suddenly an arm was thrust right past my ass – I swear, someone was trying to make a bad joke out of it – and collided with a locker. The locker opened up, and the hand rummaged around inside. After a second, it reappeared with a microphone. Slowly, the arm withdrew and took the microphone with it.

Samcyxk still had the same astonished look on his face as he brought the microphone to his lips. Then…

"Cause if I were gay, I would give you my soul. And if I were gay, I would give you my whole being. And if I were gay, we would tear down the walls. But I'm not gay. So won't you stop cupping my…" The entire locker room burst into hysterical laughter, and Samcyxk couldn't even finish the lyric before beginning to cackle. While he slammed his fist into the floor, tears streaming down his face, others clutched their lockers for support. These guys were laughing louder than a girl screaming at a Justin Timberlake concert.

"But it was an acc-" I didn't get to finish my sentence because Riku punched me in the gut. Gasping for air, I fell to the floor. "Do you want to give them more provocation?" he hissed in my ear. It was apparent that he was enjoying himself as much as I was enjoying myself. I caught a glimpse of him rubbing his crotch, whispering something to himself.

After getting up with quite a struggle, I noticed Roxas wasn't even in the room. He'd probably left as soon as he had recovered from shock to avoid the resulting embarrassment. Smart choice. If only I could've. My suspicions were confirmed, though not in the way I'd expected, when a roar came from the classroom that was closest. No doubt my carefree older brother had gone and blurted it out to the class right in the middle of the lesson.

I had to get out of there fast. Only then did it occur to me that I was shirtless. So was Riku. I was just lucky that he hadn't had his pants down, or it would've been received even worse.

That's when someone called out, "Have fun, you two!"

Following suit, someone else shouted, "We'll get out ASAP so you _guys_ can have some privacy!" He had said 'guys' like it was some huge punch-line.

"Don't be too gay now!" I swear, the room shook like it was an earthquake after that. That's how intense the laughter was. I then dove into an open locker and closed the door. All I wanted was for all of them to go away. Evidently catching my idea, Riku's shadow left my vision.

The cackling didn't stop until every last person who had witnessed it was gone. At this time, I got out of the locker, and didn't notice Riku; had he left, too? It was then that he came out from behind one of the shower curtains.

"We have to tell the coach."

"No!" I shrieked. "It's bad enough that the whole team knows! Why do we have to tell him?!"

"If the entire team knows it," Riku said sternly, "then he'll find out eventually. Either us or them." His logic made sense, and I allowed myself to follow him to Saїx's office. We made sure to remain in the shadows.

"Riku! That's my ass!"

"What can I say? It's squishy." He chuckled. I didn't know if what he said was supposed to be a joke or if he was serious. He must've been joking; I mean, I hadn't _meant_ to grab his crotch.

We arrived at Saїx's office in a matter of minutes. He was reading a newspaper with a steaming cup of coffee on his desk. A cigarette was between his teeth. I didn't know the coach was a smoker…

The two of us, building up all of our courage, stepped into the light and through his doorjamb.

Saїx looked up from the paper, and a confused scowl came across his lips. "What are you two doing? And…" He eyed us carefully. "…Where are your shirts?"

Once again, it occurred to me that I wasn't wearing a shirt, that I had forgotten it back at the locker. I silently cursed under my breath. Other than that, I was at a loss for words.

"Coach…" Riku started, taking a large sigh. "The shirtless stuff…it has a bit to do with the problem…"

"Problem?" Saїx asked. "Why's there a problem after we whipped Larxene's class?"

Both of us were silent, and then I just decided to blurt it out. I always had had bad timing, since Coach Saїx had just picked up his cup.

"I grabbed Riku's crotch!"

There was a crash as Saїx's cup shattered on the floor. He twitched in his seat, and was gripping the paper so hard it began to rip. "…What?" His mind had to be floundering, and his hair did something you saw once in a lifetime: it fell into his face, obscuring his right eye. His chest moved rapidly as he took in short, raspy breaths. "What the hell…?"

"Let me explain this a bit clearer," Riku said. "Sora and I were talking about the game, then he slipped over his shirt. I said I'd help him, but then…he reached out and grabbed…there…"

Coach Saїx had this "what-the-fuck?" expression. His brow furled, and by now, the paper was almost two separate piles of…well…paper. "Okay…And I needed to know this…why?" His eyes scanned me, then Riku; apparently, he was checking us to see if it was some kind of joke.

When he had concluded it wasn't, he stood up. Sighing, he rubbed his forehead. "This is obviously affecting both of you mentally and physically…Listen, go to your next class, I'll give both of you notes, but don't talk _at all_. If you do, you'll only get an outburst of gay jokes." He snatched up a pencil and a note card and scribbled something on it.

With much professionalism and pizzazz, he threw the card Riku's way. He caught in-between his index and middle fingers.

"And don't forget to put your shirts back on. If you'll excuse me…" He stared at the tiled floor. "I've got a bit of a mess to clean up."

We slinked out of the office quite dejectedly. That could've gone better, and it was a miracle it didn't go worse, but…this was far from a solution. I mean, a note? Flipping it over, I read the scrawled handwriting of our gym teacher.

"_Please excuse Sora and Riku for being late. There was a bit of a…situation in the lockers, and they were seeking my guidance. Please, don't call on them…it's for your own good and sanity. _

_Saїx"_

The note didn't help us much either. Before I was able to turn back and protest to him this would only provoke our next teacher to call on one of us, the door flew shut. I could swear I heard a sinister, muffled cackle; at least, that's what I thought I heard.

A door opened behind us, and the two of us scampered off like mice.


	3. English Class

The seconds were like minutes as Riku and I sluggishly navigated the halls, and it seemed like our knuckles were dragging on the ground and each of our brows had grown out to 5 inches past where they normally should've been. We must've looked quite odd, alien, as the two "cavemen" made their way to the doorstep to hell.

All the sign by the door said was 'Korrigan.' Sighing, hand trembling, I reached towards the knob. For I knew there was someone in there who would be just overjoyed to see us: Samcyxk. The little prick probably had a plethora of insults waiting to cap us with, the same way he had nearly taken out Riku's eye with a paintball gun. Nevertheless, we had to enter. So, with heavy groans and a few deep breaths…I opened the door.

The man in a black, sleeveless shirt and tight jeans looked up from 'To Kill a Mocking bird,' and scowled at the two of us. The lackluster emotion in his voice stung as he sighed. "How nice of you two to join us…" His spiked red hair scratched the chalkboard, making a noise straight from hell as he did so. The emerald eyes scanned the two of us, and their sights locked onto the note Coach Saïx had written up for us.

"Bang!" His quite apathetic face now shone brightly with the usually fun-loving Mr. Korrigan as he pranced over to me and Riku in one swift movement. He snatched up the note with one hand, balancing the book on the other. Nonchalantly, he turned on his heel and walked over to his desk. "You may be seated, you two. Pull out Mockin'bird and turn to page 145." He quickly scribbled something on his notepad before the phone began to ring.

With the claws of an eagle Mr. Korrigan grabbed it and shoved it to his ear. "Yeah, whaddaya- Ah! Ms. Bellamont!...You're kiddin'. No way, serious? He told you, huh? Well, that brightens up my day so much more. Thanks, and I'll see ya 'round, Larxene." He put down the phone, and turned to me. He couldn't hide a snicker, but shifted his attention to Selven, who was sticking her tongue all around in Samcyxk's mouth. The little whore.

"Didn't Miss Bellamont teach you better than to let your tongue get familiar with someone else's body?"

For somewhat of a response, Selven managed to reach a hand up and give Mr. Korrigan the finger. Note she did this while intimately alternating sucking Samcyxk's throat and mouth. The tramp had the moves, I'll tell you that much.

Mr. Korrigan put a hand on his forehead and wiped it in a downward direction rather slowly. "Don't come runnin' to me when you get Hepatitis…" Uttering to himself, he flipped open the book.

Oh! I almost forgot to say that, although the principal had ordered us through the school rules to address our teachers in respectful manners, we didn't. Almost the entire school knew Mr. Korrigan by his first name, Axel. He didn't mind, and neither did many of the other teachers.

Anyway, Axel began to read aloud, but abruptly stopped when the sounds of a fumbling belt pierced the air. "Not in my classroom!" He screeched, eyes half-open and concentrating on the book. Immediately, Selven and Samcyxk rushed to their seats, faces red with a mix of humiliation and perversion.

After about 20 pages and 30 minutes, Axel got another call. It was most likely from the principal, so he told us to blow off a little steam and have some free time. I was about to get up and go over to Tidus' seat when suddenly Samcyxk and his $20 whore appeared in my line of vision.

There was no denying that Selven was a babe; she was just bad at keeping a relationship going for more than a month (albeit having been with Samcyxk for the past year). She had gorgeous neon-pink hair with a few blond highlights running down from the barely visible scalp. Her eyes were chocolate brown, though Roxas described them as the color of a "pile-a-shit." She had pale pink lips which smacked as she stared me down. And even though she was a girl, the smug look she gave me made me want to slug her.

"I heard about what happened in the lockers," she cooed in a soft voice. "By this time, the entire school should be onto you and your sweetheart. How romantic…" She sighed like a SasuNaru fangirl.

"Lay off," I said, jaw twitching. "It's none of your business, let alone the school's. It was-"

"The greatest moment of your life?" Selven hadn't even cared what I was going to say. All she wanted to do was embarrass me. I had no idea how she could do it anymore, unless she got Elton John to come in and give a speech about how it's "alright to be gay." After all, everyone knows he's got a boyfriend. "That's sweet, really tear-jerking." Her corny little smile never left her face, and each moment I stared at it, my inner demons got louder. They were screaming at me, ordering me to clean her clock. I almost wanted to shout at them, 'who says that anymore?!'

"Just shut up and get off my case," I muttered.

It was then that Selven quickly leaned down and grabbed my cheeks. She thrust my head forward, and gave me a long, succulent kiss. Immediately, the room went silent and everyone's attention turned to the three of us at my desk.

Her tongue whipped around inside my mouth, collecting all the saliva it could. They must've tasted like fun dip, because all the moistness inside me was being drained fast. Really freakin' fast.

After about half a minute, she let me go. "Wh-what the hell?!" I felt extremely hot, and a sweat drop formed on my brow. Selven leaned back triumphantly. For a moment she stood there, before leaning in right by my ear.

"You grabbed Riku's goodies. What's a little kiss?" In a déjà vu motion she once again loomed over me. Faking a surprised expression, she brought a finger to her lips. "Unless…" That's when I knew she'd gotten me.

"Ya know, I knew it from the first time I saw you." Her teeth were fangs, her eyes angular and filled with fire. "I just knew you were a flamer."

It had just reoccurred to me that everyone in the class was paying intent attention to me. I immediately lost it.

Jumping up from my desk, I got right in her face. Breath shot out of my nose. "What else do you have to say, you bitch?"

"Heh. Those are strong words for a firecrotch, aren't they?"

I brought my fist back and let it fly right into her smug, pompous face. She let out a small scream as she flew back into a desk, sending it tumbling to the wall. Selven herself was sprawled out on the floor, blood running from her nose and a piece of teeth lodged in the wall. There were gasps all around the room as my eyes leered at Samcyxk, who took a cautious step back, then flew to Selven's side.

At that time, I heard the crash and twisting of metal. Meekly turning around, I saw Axel's phone in pieces on the floor. Next came the stomp of his boots as he came towards me. There was no trying to reason with him; never before had I seen him so fuming, so mad. "GET OUT OF MY CLASS!" he screamed, voice cracking.

My instincts told me to do what he said, but the 14-year-old had a different plan. "But-"

"I DO NOT WANT YOU IN HERE IF YOU'RE GOING TO HIT A GIRL, AND I'LL BE DAMNED IF YOU STAY!" He pointed at the door, hand shaking. Dejectedly I exited, but shot a glance at Selven. Through the pain, she couldn't hide a smirk; even if it only lasted for a moment before she resumed moaning.

Out in the hall, I found Mr. Coranada, the math teacher, tapping his foot on the marble floor. Scratching his goatee, he said, "I heard Axel from my room. Come with me."

Usually, Luxord was willing to bend the rules; he wasn't much of a stickler. But when it came to screaming so loud the whole hall could hear it, he was dead serious. When I didn't respond, his talon of a hand latched around my wrist and pulled me. For a math teacher, he was strong. No matter how much I struggled, it was no use.

I didn't want to see the principal. He was the single scariest person in the school, and almost never happy. So when I marched into his office with Luxord, I felt a pit rising in my stomach.

There was a bit of shuffling as he turned in his 70's-ish swivel chair. "What is it now, Luxord?"

"Principal Gallagher." Luxord gave a small bow to satisfy the principal's ego. "There's a bit of a…um…situation here with Sora."

Xemnas didn't even need to look at me to know who Luxord spoke of, even though he did. Few other times I'd been in here, so he knew who I was. Sighing, he said, "What is it this time?"

I stayed silent, shuffling a bit where I stood. I had no intention of speaking to him.

"Ahem. Let me try again. What is it this time?"

His lemony sour voice finally got me to speak up. "I…hit a girl."

"And what for?"

Daring not to look him in the eyes, I stared at the ground. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine. Then there's nothing to talk about." He stood up ad went to the only window in his office. His grey hair settled on the windowsill as he leaned over. "I'm giving you after-school detention."

"What?!" I shouted in protest. "But…what about the game against the teachers?!"

"Well, you won't be playing in it unless you can prove to me you know how to behave. You do that, you're more than welcome to play. But if not, you're not going near that field." His apathetic eyes never once made eye contact with mine. "Get out of my office."

It was then that the bell ran, and I scurried out. I wanted nothing to do with him. But even worse, I didn't want to have to face anyone in the school.

As I walked out, I saw Samcyxk coming up the aisle, eyes fixated on me. Oh, damn.


	4. Detention

I hadn't even meant to do it

I tried to dodge out of his line of Samcyxk's line of sight, but the horde of anxious students eager to get on the bus and go home pinned me against the wall. I even saw the teachers leaving, which was a bit unusual; normally they waited an hour or so before heading on out, but this time, they all headed for the exit rather swiftly.

Principal Gallagher, Xemnas, near-marched out of his office and saw Samcyxk, coming in closer to me. He got in-between the two of us and said something to my classmate; what it was, I didn't know. It was drowned out by the incessant raving of teenage girls walking by, chatting loudly about makeup and Chad Kroeger.

Finally, Xemnas joined the group, and soon the school was about empty…save for me and Samcyxk. He grunted then waved a hand at me. "Come," he said emotions lacking in his voice. "Principal said I'm in charge of your new detention…" The light returned to his eyes, a grin twisted onto his face, and feeling washed back into his words. "So I've got you all to myself for a full two hours…"

When I refused to move, he shuffled over to where I stood. He grabbed my forearm and let his fist fly into my gut. Air all gone from my lungs, he picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. Even if he didn't look it, Samcyxk was a beast when it came to strength.

He paraded with me through a few corridors into a classroom that was, obviously, empty. I yelped as he threw me to the carpet and stood still. His dark-greenish hair fell in front of his right eye, not from the ridiculous hairstyle it was put into, but from aggravation. When you're really, severely aggravated, your hair seems to grow 5 inches and falls into your face. It's…weird…

Anyway, Samcyxk shut the door and took out a key; a key that had no doubt been given to him by Xemnas. He swiftly glided over to a cabinet, opened it, and tossed the shimmering key inside. Taking out a combination lock, he locked the cabinet shut. Now I was really trapped, because Samcyxk didn't go down without a fight. And he always put up one helluva fight.

He slowly approached me, and before I knew, had curled his hand into a fist. "Selven is going to the hospital thanks to you," he said contemptuously, teeth clenched. "Now you are going to pay!" Without so much as a warning, he was right next to me, and punched me hard in the cheek. I stumbled back before tumbling over a desk.

Looking up, I saw Samcyxk shove the desk aside. I struggled to get up, but he kicked me in the stomach, causing me to fall back to the floor. He put a foot to rest on my spine, and began to push down. Very hard. I could feel my body being suppressed, not to mention squashed against the floor.

When Samcyxk let his foot up, he grabbed me by the collar and threw me a few desk lengths away from him. Muttering to himself, he walked into the closet. I took this time to catch my breath. Crawling to the wall, I started to hoist myself up.

That's when he came back out, empty-handed; he came right towards me. Letting another fist make contact with my stomach, he forced me right up against the wall. He grabbed my shirt and threw me to the ground with a mildly sickening, rather violent "thud!"

Samcyxk grabbed both of my arms and forced them forward, and proceeded to rest his knee on my back. With delicate movements he cracked his knuckles. Then he wrestled my vest and shirt off.

Flipping me over, he punched my cheek right again, sending me collapsing to the floor. Samcyxk tore my belt off, same with my pants. "Heh. Nice Disney boxers…"

Once I realized what was happening, I began to flounce and flail.

Growling, he grabbed my wrists and forced them to the floor. Staring at me with a sort of crazed grin, he said, "You're pathetic, but at the same time…" Keeping one of my arms pinned, he reached into his sleeve and retracted a full roll of duct tape. I started to yell, but he was quick to slap me. "Shut up!" he hissed.

My lapse of movement gave him enough time to pull my wrists together and tie them. He only went around a few times, because I began to yell again. Samcyxk muttered something to himself yet again, and then tore off a relatively small piece. He clamped it onto my mouth, and the yelling noise subsided.

Samcyxk pushed me up to a desk, lifted the leg, and put it right inside the oddly-shaped oval that my hands, being tied, formed. Now he began to use more tape on my wrists, tying them together, then to the desk, together, and then to the desk. He continued for about 5 minutes before stopping.

Now he started to tie my legs together. The worst feeling was not being able to do anything; I was defenseless and unable to stop him.

It would be a good time to say that Samcyxk was an extreme sadist. He saw pain in everything, and was constantly pining Coach Bellamont – Larxene – to let him borrow her copy of _Marquis De Sade_.

When Samcyxk had finished tying me up, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade knife. "…You're so adorable." He knelt down and leaned in so I could stare him in the eye; it burned with fury, yet there was a feeling of pain in the anger…Something that wanted to start crying. What was it?

"I'm going to enjoy cutting up your cute little body." Samcyxk's eyes went completely insane, the pupils reducing to a minimal size. "I'm anxious to see your blood spill! I want to hear you moan in agony because it excites me! In everything there's pain, and only through the infliction of harm can you truly understand someone!"

Now I knew he had lost his mind; I heard his incessant rambling, but it made no sense to me. All I could make sense of was the fact that he was going to dissect me. This couldn't be happening! This was all a dream!

Yet when the tip of the knife pricked my forearm and I felt the pain – the searing sensation and the moistness of my blood meandering down my skin – I couldn't deny that it was happening. Reality was really starting to suck at this point.

Samcyxk's knife cut jagged little lines into my skin, and he slashed a line across my chest. The bleak, painful look in his eyes was back, and growing ever so much bigger. It was times like this when I wished I didn't exist, but that was something I could never achieve.

The knife kept coming, and for the next two hours, that's all I could remember.

I must've passed out from blood loss, because when I opened my eyes, Samcyxk was gone. I reached over and felt my arm; it was wet with blood, but I realized I was no longer tied up. Sitting up, a sharp pain flew to my brain. Screeching, I fell back. Looking down, I saw a cut mark on my gut, and drying blood inching down towards my pelvis.

At this moment, I realized I was lying on a towel; conveniently, it was red. I didn't know if it had originally been that color or had been painted by my blood, but I wrapped it around myself and stood up.

A shower of blood met the classroom floor, and I yelped. There was gonna be a helluva time trying to explain this. Instead of trying to clean it up, I hurriedly (but not too quickly) put my clothes back on, wrapped the towel around my waist, and started back home.

Later, I had looked up to my mother and lied straight to her face. I told her that I had been swimming, and was going to take a bath. When she inquired about the scratch on my forehead, I had to think quickly.

"I fell down coming out and scratched it," I said. She nodded with a sweet smile, and let me go upstairs and take a bath.

The water stung and was turning more and more crimson by the minute. All there was to do was to soak all the blood off and let the wounds heal. I sighed and cringed off and on.

All the water was deep red and I was almost done. That's when I heard the knob turning. Oh, shit…

"Mom told me to come in and-"

Kairi dropped the towels and gasped as she looked upon the tainted water.

* * *

A/N: Just so you all know, and before the comments come…

SAMCYXK IS NOT GAY!! There's this thing called bisexuality, and he's bisexual. And a real sadist.

And, yes. It's another of those evil cliffhangers. lols


	5. The Dream

I hadn't even meant to do it

Sometimes I'm thankful that I act before I can think. If I hadn't nearly leapt out of the tub and clamped my hand over Kairi's mouth, she'd have probably screamed. Using my other hand, I put my index finger up to my face; in other words, I silently told her to shut her trap.

After a reassuring nod from my sister, I relaxed and let her mouth have its freedom back.

In a quiet tone, she asked, "What the hell happened? You don't get those injuries from a swim."

I let a sigh escape my lips. How would I tell anyone – let alone my own sister – what Samcyxk had done to me at "detention?" I let myself sink a little down into the water that looked like tomato soup – my blood looked like freakin' tomato soup. That was just peachy. Normally, I would've gone on a long mental rant about how utterly weird and stupid having tomato-colored blood was. But I had more important issues to deal with.

"Let's see…" I said, putting a finger to my lips. My eyes wandered halfway between the ceiling and Kairi's head, and I made one of those inquisitive frowns you'd see on _Cold Case_. "Umm…Principal Gallagher gave me detention-"

"Detention?" Kairi seemed surprised at this. "I wouldn't think of you as one to get in that much trouble…"

"Yeah…Anyway, since I hit Selven, Samcyxk really decided to cut me up. And I mean that literally." I stood up in a kind of hunch so that Kairi could see what I meant. She covered her own mouth, and I swear a tear formed in her eye. Turning away, she said, "I…I've got ointment in my room if you want…"

Checking to see that all the blood had been absorbed into the water, I grinned. "Would I ever!" Stepping out, she said, "Make sure you use a red towel…"

The 25 minutes of ointment were…awkward, to say an understatement. I know some guys dream of being rubbed by their sister, but this was just creepy beyond all measures. The guys who want to watch someone's sister are really gross and should get a life – I can say that from my…first-hand experience with Kairi.

It was her room, so naturally, she didn't feel uncomfortable about getting nearly undressed…in front of me. My cheeks went maroon.

"What? It's hot."

Yes. Oh, yes it – No! Bad Sora! Bad Sora's thoughts! Go back to the pit from whence you came! I exorcise thee!

Anyway, I had to suffer through the Spice Girls as Kairi applied the cream. Why were they even offered a record deal? Moreover, how can people listen to them and enjoy it?! I mean, she even hummed along with the sound of steel grinding on a chalkboard!

"Sora…you really need to tell someone about this." It was the first time she'd said something un-Spice Girl related. I choked on a laugh.

"Are you alright?!"

Coughing, I said, "Yeah…fine…" I thought over what she had said before that. "…Kairi, if I tell someone…Samcyxk'll probably be sent to jail. And that means the team won't have a chance in hell of beating the teachers."

Being slapped is not fun. That's all I can say about Kairi's reaction to what I told her.

"Screw the team!" she said rather forcefully. Not being able to think of a protest, I merely rubbed my cheek with this 'that was really mean' look. "He's hurting you severely – what if he loses it and does permanent damage?!" Now tears were running down her cheeks.

"Sora! What if he kills you?!" She flung herself at her pillow, sobbing. "How…? How do you expect me to go on without you?" That was when I found out my sister really cared about me.

I reached out and rubbed her back. "I'm a tough guy – I can handle Samcyxk." What I said managed to quell her crying, though I still don't understand how. Kairi got up and, face crimson, walked a few feet from the bed.

"Sora…"

"We've been friends since kindergarten," I nearly exclaimed in protest. "I can't just sell him out for one thing!"

She sighed. Then she turned to me with a smile that was almost a sad expression. "I guess that's what friends are for, right?" She cocked her head, and her smile grew more radiant. "You're a really good friend."

A sly grin appeared on her mug, and she tackled me on the bed. In a few seconds she had me in a headlock, giving me a noogie. If word of this got out to the school, it'd be instantaneous social suicide – yet I laughed. We rolled on the bed before I began to tickle her on the feet.

"How d'ya like tat?" I asked her mockingly. "Like your own medicine?!" Our faces were so cheery, you wouldn't have thought I'd lost any blood at all. Maybe this was what having a sister was all about…

After our fun little 'session,' she got up and turned off the radio. She finished up putting on the ointment, and waved at me as I left. For the first time, I appreciated my sister love, and didn't want to flip her skirt on national television.

Dinner came and went, and before I knew it I was laying in bed with ZZ Top blaring in my ears. It was going to be a cold night and I had three blankets on top of me, one being made of the most peculiar fabric. I still wondered how my mom had gotten a goldenrod blanket that felt like it belonged on a dog.

My eyes were droopy with sleep, my cheeks red with tired feelings. Slowly, I felt myself getting more and more lost in the darkness.

It's hard for me to piece together exactly when I fell asleep, but it was what began the most terrifying night of my life.

The first sign that something was wrong was the horizon; there are only two instances when the wall is dark purple and pulsating – you're either dreaming or on LSD. And since my mom would kill me if she found out I was doing drugs, I deduced that I had to be dreaming.

Trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes, I attempted to find out where I was. Two wooden posts were standing vertically out of the ground for no apparent reason.

"What the hell's going on…?" I scrunched my face in confusion. This didn't make sense.

"Hey there, Sora."

Whipping around, I saw Riku. He was stalking towards in an almost-drunken swagger. From behind him came Samcyxk, Kairi, Roxas, and Selven. They all had the same listless walk that Riku had.

"Okay, this is definitely a dream."

"Nope." Riku was suddenly standing right in front of me. He rested his index and middle fingers on my forehead. "This is real, baby."

Swatting his fingers away, I said, "Offa me, you Itachi wannabe."

Riku chuckled a dark, foreboding chuckle that sounded like a cowbell mixed with Satan's laugh. "I know you don't want that…" He raised a finger and pointed at me. My shirt grew sharp eyes and a jagged mouth. They laughed and stared at me before disappearing. I just looked, dumbfounded at what had happened. "Okay…creepy…"

Before I could react, Riku was upon me. He motioned for the others to come forward, but they were no longer people – dark masses that were made to resemble bodies flew at me, transcending the laws of physics and twisting every which way with each breath and movement. I tried to bat one away but my hand went through the object.

It soon became obvious that I couldn't touch them, but they could touch me. Kinda like MC Hammer.

In instants, they had tied rope around my wrists and tied me to the posts. My face grew hot with frustration. "Enough with the tying me up!"

The laughs of the black…things were even scarier than the Spice Girls movie. Clutching their barely-existent sides, they watched as Riku unbuttoned his shirt. Opening his eyes, the perfect aqua transfixed me. He was so…beautiful…

No, he wasn't! Why was I thinking these things?!

He came forward, and I tried to get free; I forgot that in dreams, the laws of nature can be broken. I couldn't even move my arms.

Riku reached out and stroked the crux of my chest as I felt sweat begin to form on my brow. Leaning in, he licked it and left a trail of saliva leading to his next target. He tenderly bit my right nipple, toying with it.

He got down on a knee and began to unbutton my shorts. Looking up at me, he grinned, "This is what you want…isn't it?" His tone was poisonous.

"No!" I yelled. Finding my head could still move, I bent it down and bit his nose as hard as I could.

Blood, however, didn't run from the newly-opened wound. Instead, out came a white substance resembling milk that seemed to viscous for its own good. I would make a Mrs. Butterworths joke, but now isn't really the time.

"Taste?" Riku asked before shoving his nose into my mouth. The liquid brushed my tongue, and I fell under its addictive spell.

Then, Riku was gone. I was still tied to the poles, but felt something warm and sticky at my feet. Craning my head down, I saw the milky liquid amassing in a pool; it began to work its way up my body and I still was unable to move an inch.

As the stuff went over my chin, I felt like dying. This was all too real; was it really a dream? Whatever it was began to fill my mouth…

I shot up in my bed so hard my butt began to ache. Sweat was dripping from my forehead into my mouth. I breathed heavily before leaning over the side of my bed and staring at a small wicker basket lined with a bag. There was a queasy feeling in my stomach for only a moment before I threw up.

Coming back, I tried to figure out what the dream meant.

Then it hit me.

Oh my God.

I was in love with Riku.


	6. Next Day

I really dreaded going to school after my creepy epiphany that had occurred the night before. Nevertheless, I was drug along by Kairi; proudly, we were now best friends and sibling rivalry meant nothing.

Roxas didn't know anything about my "detention" incident, and thank God he didn't. Knowing my big brother, he'd go up to Samcyxk with this Indiana Jones "I'm-a-gonna kick your ass" attitude, and proceed to bet the crap of my former childhood friend.

Today, I deviated from my normal clothes; to hide the scars and scabs I had donned a black Spitfire hoodie and now sported long, semi-tight blue jeans. My batting gloves were on my hands, though I knew as soon as Principal Gallagher saw them, he'd remind me of my detention and demand that I take them off. He wasn't fair; in fact, as fair as Rosie O'Donnel being allowed on television, and that was seriously unfair (and in my opinion, a threat to national sanity).

I scooted down the hall, pondering what to do when I first saw Riku. The thought of tackling him and frenching him was out of the question. And, that was the only thing I'd really thought up…

The first period of the day was science, with Professor Emerson – Vexen. What's worse, Riku had the class with me.

Come to think of it, here was my schedule: Science, History, Math, P.E., and then English. This was Riku's schedule: Science, History, Math, P.E., and English (different teacher).

Shit. That's four in a row.

Shuddering, I went inside the science lab. Who should be the first person I see but Samcyxk, dark makeup on his face. For a moment, I thought Gene Simmons had transferred to our school – something the place would have to be proud of for once.

"Going emo?" I asked as I went by him. His response was to look up at me. His eyes were filled with that same pain from the day before. They seemed dead and almost comatose. Their cheeriness and usual color were absent; the irises now had a dull gray tint, the color of lead.

As the bell rang and Vexen entered, I plopped down in my seat and let my head rest on my shoulders. I didn't even pay attention as he said our instructions, normal vigor increasing with each sip of coffee.

"Sora?"

I sat straight up. Vexen looked at me. "Stop spacing out, will you? I'm pairing you up with Mr. Falker." My blood ran cold – that was Riku.

Trying my best not to puke on the spot, I got up and went over to him. This was going to be extremely awkward.

For the first minute or so, he didn't even seem to notice me. He just stood there, setting up the apparatus that I had no idea how to operate.

"…Hey, Sora…" Riku's voice was crackly and bleak; it sounded like he had the flu.

"You feeling alright?" I asked.

"Oh, no…I'm fine…" Something in his voice was sad. "Take that and pour it into the beaker…" I realized he was talking about the experiment. Quickly, I picked up a vial filled with green liquid and put it into a glass. When I was done, it looked like a show of biology I'd once seen, where they put a dissected frog into a cup.

Unfortunately, at that moment, my eyes were locked onto Riku's ass. Without thinking, I picked a pink liquid and tipped it over into the beaker. Oh, what the hell was I thinking?

"Sora!"

My eyes crossed as I watched the concoction explode onto my face. The beaker flew off of the table.

I couldn't see what happened next. Everyone said, though, that Vexen had nearly flown across the room from his desk; there was a flash, and the contents of the beaker were frozen. He had caught them brilliantly. From that day forward, he would forever be known at the school as Jack Frost.

But now for the present – my face burned, and I felt skin peeling off. I hadn't even been wearing goggles; now I knew what Vexen had been talking about.

I was quickly ushered somewhere; by whom, I don't know. The path we took? Unclear. All I know is that when I could see again, and the sensation of being scorched was over, I was in the Nurse's.

"Whu…where am I?" Sometimes I'm really stupid.

"Are you all right now? Just what happened to you?"

My eyes were groggy, but I could make out the nurse – Xigbar. Apparently, there had been a lack of choices for the district in the nurse section – most of them claimed the higher-ups were sexist, or they were just afraid of what Principal Gallagher might put them through. The only choice was a guy, and that was Nurse Xigbar.

"Well? What did you do?"

"I…" I murmured for a minute, trying to recollect what had happened.

"_Oh, no…I'm fine…"_

_Ass_

"_Take that and pour it into the beaker…"_

_Ass_

_Pouring in the green liquid…_

_Ass_

_More ass_

_Even more ass._

I gulped. "Um…I accidentally knocked over a substance…"

Xigbar rubbed his forehead with a latex glove. "Your face was pretty badly burned; I bandaged it up while you were out. Just…don't look in a mirror for a while…"

I groaned, moaned, and "Sylvester Stallone'd". Moreover, Nurse Xigbar let me out of the bed after about a half hour. "Oh. And, I want you to see Zexion in the other room. He says he's got something for you."

Once again, I moaned, but nevertheless went into the adjoining room.

It was like I had stepped backing time about 30 years. Ted Nugent and Aerosmith posters were hung on the walls, there had to be at least 5 lava lamps, and the word "Psyche" on the wall was written in that squiggly, fat style. On a beanbag chair sat one of the weirdest people at the school.

Zexion had spiked purplish-blue hair, with one clump falling in front of his right eye. He looked innocent in his gypsy robes, but that guy had been around the block before…if you know what I mean. On a small table with a dark purple cloth draped over its surface a crystal ball sat.

I sighed, and impatiently asked, "What fortune do you have for me today?"

With a light laugh, Zexion replied, "'Tis not a fortune you'll receive today." He stood up (the first time I'd ever seen him do so) and stalked towards me, grinning like a pervert. "Today, you'll get something that Xigbar wasn't trained enough to do.

"He calls himself a nurse, yet he can't fix…" He stroked my chin. "…A little boy's face." Creepazoid 3000 wove his hand, and took off the bandages. Taking a look in the crystal ball, he grinned. "Come."

I did as I was told, and looked onto the odd surface of the ball. My face was normal-looking. If what Xigbar had told me before about not looking in a mirror was true, then this guy really was a freakin' miracle worker.

Zexion bowed, and glided over to his boombox. I heard "Mama Kin" come on; seriously, was this dude trapped in the 70s? Quickly but quietly, I snuck out. Xigbar didn't seem to notice me, but said, "4th period."

Wow! As I glanced up at the clock, I noticed the bell marking 3rd period's closure would ring in only a couple minutes. Grabbing my stuff which had appeared in front of me from seemingly nowhere (Zexion smiled) while I was in Creepazoid 3000's room I was instantly out the door.

I didn't dread the fact that (once again) Riku was in my 4th period class. The fact I dreaded was that 4th period was P.E. – Where all this had started.


	7. Gym Class: Take 2

I rushed through the halls, frantically making my way (though not enjoying the trip) to the locker room.

"Heh…Hello…"

The sudden voice made me halt in my tracks. No one seemed to be in the corridor; was I going insane? I hit myself in the cheek, pinched my skin, and began reciting the Barney theme song. "I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy…"

"That song isn't helping your case any." I turned to one of the more shaded areas and saw a pair of deep green eyes looking back at me.

"AAAHHH!" I shouted. "It's Medusa!!"

"I'm not freakin' Medusa." A black boot emerged, and then the entire person came out. It was a girl. She had on a pair of combat boots that stretched up to a bit below her knees; the rest of her legs consisted of black jeans with a chain dangling from the right pocket. She had on an MCR belly shirt, and a belly button ring glimmered in the light. Her skin was a pale white, with those evergreen eyes. Her hair was jet black with a few purple highlights running down the back.

"AAAHHH! It _IS_ Medusa!"

The girl growled. "I'm not Medusa, you dillhole." Her frown was aimed right at my face. She fired, and I was immediately afraid of her. "My name is Xefeclorn."

Oh…So this was Xefeclorn, the school's most popular lesbian. I had heard stories that she was dark and secluded, but I'd always imagined her as being a victim of bad rumors…Something like her having banana-yellow hair with an orange shirt and a lot more flamboyancy; not a scowling, "get-out-of-my-face" vampire.

"You're the little gay boy with grabbed Riku, aren't you…?"

It was official – everyone knew. Rumors spread like wildfire in this school – or herpes after a Backstreet Boys concert. My face went deep red, and the girl laughed. "It's not like I'm the _only _one who knows. It's amazing how rumors can get around so quickly…" She glanced down the hall. "It's like they're in a Viper, cruising down Main Street with the radio blaring it out."

So she liked Vipers…I guess she wasn't all bad and hold on just a second. So everyone _did_ know…I threw my head into my hands. It wouldn't be long before my parents found out, and God knows they were gossipers…

"I feel like I wanna kill myself…" I moaned through my fingers.

Xefeclorn laughed. "Ya know, I felt the same way when everyone found out I was a lesbian…freakin' Namine…Just has to go blurt out to everyone 'Look at me! I'm Namine! I just made out with the sluttiest whore ever! And guess what?! IT WAS XEFY!!'" Her impression of Namine was high and squeaky like a chipmunk. It at least got me to laugh a little.

Now she seemed to take on a more serious tone. "Look – if you want to be accepted by the pricks at this place, you have to do something really cool. In your case, if you made out with Freddie Mercury, you might have a chance."

"But Freddie Mercury's dead."

"And you'd be frenching a gay skeleton; people think that's awesome. Um…let me give you an example…

"Me. Everyone laughed and pointed and muttered whenever I'd walk by. All those whores would flip up their skirts when I was looking at them…"

"How is this helping me?" I asked.

"Let me finish. The thing was, I was playing guitar – I have been since I was six. No one bothered to notice, though. They screamed so they wouldn't hear me.

"That's when Samcyxk took me in." I looked up, completely surprised at what Xefeclorn had said. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "He was just walking down the hall, blowing bubbles with his gum. It was after hours, and I thought I was the only one in the place. Apparently, he heard me playing and literally rammed the door over.

"He asked me what I was playing. I was so in shock – no one had ever bothered to ask me. I was playing Through the Fire and Flames, and he asked if he could hear it. When I finished, he said, 'You're coming with me.'

"We went to his house, into his garage. Selven was there, and so was Taxmt – you know him, don't you? Guy who's so much of a Seahawks fan that he painted his skin light blue? That guy?" I shook my head. "Oh, well. It was something to see, though. Selven was sitting behind a drum set, there was an empty mic, and Taxmt was holding a bass guitar. He said in that cheery voice of his, 'Guys – we've got ourselves a lead guitarist.'" She sighed before continuing.

"I blew them away, and that's when Sam told me that they had a gig a few days later. We played, and he gave me an instrumental so I could show off." She seemed to be getting pretty choked up. "I…I've never heard applause that loud. The next day, everyone was congratulating me…"

Xefeclorn finally noticed tears were running down her cheeks; she wiped them away and got back to that dark, goth look. "The point is, the really cool thing I do is play guitar. You just have to find your niche.

"Oh, and by the way, you might want to get to class." The bell rang, and students started falling out of classroom doors.

"Xefeclorn!" She turned back to me. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

She smiled, and disappeared into the crowd. It was then that I remembered I was supposed to be going to the locker room. My plan to be there before anyone else had been sabotaged by Xefeclorn, so now I had to face all the guys. With a sinking heart, I went on my way.

It took a few minutes, but I arrived. There were only a few guys there, but they made smooching noises and puckered up their lips. Trying my best to ignore them, I went to my locker and got out my gym clothes.

As I took my shirt off, there was a loud wolf whistle. Snickers followed.

"Okay, who the hell did that?!" I shouted. Nobody seemed to be listening. Muttering to myself, I got changed and went to Saïx's half of the huge room.

To my surprise, most of the class was already there. Everyone was in line and silent. They only moved to glance at me; I noticed Riku paid attention. So he didn't even have to look to know it was me…

"So glad you could join us," Saïx said. "Look, I heard about what happened in your first period. If you don't want to participate, I understand…"

"No," I replied. "I'm fine."

"Good," he said back. I couldn't keep from wondering what his mouth twisting into a crazed grin was all about. His eyes kept their same apathy as he made contact with mine. "It just wouldn't be the same without you."

The first game we did was half-and-half dodgeball. Riku and I were on opposite teams, with Samcyxk on mine. The three of us never threw a ball at each other, though we did manage to peg the majority of our opposing team.

In fact, Samcyxk retained his title as "unhittable." His moves were so swift and elegant from playing DDR that no ball did so much as glance off of him; he had been within a yard of Tidus and had dodged the ball.

The second game was some three-on-three basket ball. Larxene's class was learning about health that day, so the other gym wasn't occupied. Saïx sent my team and Riku's team only over there. Nothing interesting happened…until I was dodging and Riku had the ball.

I at first didn't know who it was, but they had shoved me from behind. If I hadn't brought my hands to my sides, it probably would've been a repeat of the locker incident. When I got up, I saw Samcyxk walking over to the bleachers.

His hit was a resounding one. Whoever it was, I didn't personally know him, was sent sprawling but Samcyxk's fist.

"If any one of you makes another joke about that," he said in a clear, powerful voice, "I swear to God I will beat the living shit out of you." After that, the games we played were uneventful.

The period ended on a happy note; everyone was chatting, and didn't pay any attention to me. I guess Samcyxk had been heard in the other gym, too.

The last period of the day was English – a relatively boring class. But I knew that when the final bell rang, I was going to have to do the most insane, most hard thing there was to do.

I had to confront Riku.


	8. Tale of Tennis

Per my request just before the final bell, Riku and I met in the empty classroom that my detention was in. Having Samcyxk there was odd, but he was listening to his iPod, so it was okay.

Riku's magnificent indigo eyes walked down my forehead to meet my own. As he did, I stuttered and mixed my words that were already coming out incredibly. What came out sounded like Billy Corgan, high, screaming lyrics penned by Alexi Laiho (seriously, I can't understand anything that guy says!).

Rubbing his ear, Riku said, "…What?"

I shook my head back and forth. Why was this so hard…? Oh, right. Maybe because homosexuality is frowned upon by society, what are the chances my best friend who I've known for all my life is gay, and the cat's got my tongue.

Finally, after taking deep breaths (and being totally perplexed by Riku's fabulous muscles) I started to talk slowly, and my words were more understandable. "Riku…I have something I need to tell you."

"Finally," he breathed. "I was wondering why you were insistent that we meet here…"

"Well…" Taking one last breath, I told him, "I met the coolest lesbian today."

"What?"

"Oh, right. Wrong thing…Okay…Riku…" Looking into his marvelous eyes, I almost lost my train of thought. Good thing my conductor is serious, unlike me. He's Italian, too, and has a girlfriend named Barbara. They decided to settle down in Kansas, and he makes a living conducting thought trains. He is _the_ nicest guy you'll ever meet; and if you ever visit him, ask for Barb's ham and pea soup – that stuff is to die for.

That's right – I was about to tell Riku my secret. Now was the time to get it over with. "Riku…I'm…I'm in love with you."

"Oh, thank Christ!" Before I knew what was happening, I felt something around the back of my head. Something pulled me forward, and then…I felt my lips against something. Peering up, I saw Riku. Realizing what was happening, I melted in his comforting, caressing arms that massaged my nape.

When I came to, only a few moments later, I found myself swimming in a perfect ocean of azure. Finally closing my eyes, I took in the kiss and began to fight Riku's tongue back – there was no way I was letting him have all the fun.

That, and I've heard bad things about being the uke. I mean, take a look at Naruto – in every single fanfic, do you ever see Sasuke handcuffed to a bed? Do you ever see Itachi being violated when he's about to have the Kyuubi extracted from him? I mean, come on! Fox boy even loses to angsty, emotionally unstable Gaara!

Anyway, when the kiss was disengaged, it felt like a thousand years had passed. Seeing Samcyxk staring at us from his chair brought me back down to reality. Then Samcyxk shook his head and went back to reclining.

"I'm so glad that's the way you feel." It took me a minute to realize it was Riku who was talking. Once again, I made contact with his gorgeous aquamarine eyes. "Ever since that day in the lockers…That's when I finally found out why I was so interested in you – why I felt so disgusted when you'd talk with someone for hours and then with me for a few minutes." He leaned in and delicately licked my neck. "That's when I knew I loved you."

Damn, not the neck lick! Now I knew I was forever destined to be an uke…to be put in the same category as people like Naruto, Toshiro, Hiei, and Shuichi!

So, Riku and I were both in love with each other. Now we could laugh at the rumors, and…the rumors…

"Wait a sec!" I exclaimed.

"What?!" Riku had a scared look in his eyes, as though he were thinking that I might reject him.

"Gym class today!" I let a fist slam into my open palm. "That's it – the rumors! Don't you think it's a bit odd that you and I were on opposite teams and didn't throw a ball at each other! Come on, they put our two teams in a separate room! It all makes sense!"

The pieces finally fit together for Riku. "Saїx…He wanted to see if the rumors were true…"

"Let's go get him!" I yelled.

"Hold on," Riku told me. He walked over to Samcyxk. "Yo!"

Samcyxk kept on rocking, tapping his foot to a rhythm I couldn't decipher. "Yo!" That's when Riku went right up to the boy's ear.

"YO!!"

Samcyxk took one of the small headphones whose name escapes me out of his ear. His look was expressionless, but carried an air of slight annoyance. "Yah?"

"Are Saїx and Larxene still here? Do you know?"

Samcyxk shrugged. "Yeah, they're still here. Girls' basketball tryouts today."

"Thanks, Sam…Why did you know that right off the bat?"

"Come on. A roomful of girls running around, sweating, and jumping up and down in tight athletic shorts? To me, today's like Ozzfest. In an hour, I'm gonna be in heaven." He put the headphone back in his ear, signaling that he was done talking.

Riku turned to me. "C'mon."

* * *

I pushed open the doors to the gymnasium swiftly; we didn't have any time to lose. We needed to know what Saїx was up to. Turning the corner, Riku and I stopped dead in our tracks.

What do you get when you cross two gym teachers of the opposite gender, one chair, and an empty room?

Apparently, you get Saїx and Larxene wrestling and smooching, all in an attempt to get that one chair. Beside me, Riku cringed. "Eeeww…"

The two teachers heard him, and immediately stopped. Their heads turned to us, back to themselves, then back to us. I'm just gonna tell you guys that being on top of a pinned, barely clothed, tanned woman and seeing two teenage boys enter is just not a good place to be.

Saїx rolled off of Larxene and got up, brushing his pants off.

"What the hell!" I yelled.

As Larxene got up, both of them came over to us.

"You were trying to figure out if we were really gay, weren't you?" Way to get right to the point, Riku…

Larxene was flabbergasted…heh. I like that word…flabbergasted…

"Um…uh, well…you see…"

"Well, we are," I said clearly. "You can stop trying to figure it out!"

"We had to know," Saїx said. "It's not that we don't like you; we're just, a little wary…Especially after the last time we encountered it…"

"Last time?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sit down," Saїx told us. "I've got a story.

"It all began in gym class. We had just finished spending a day playing tennis against other teams. It was the school team versus other teams hat the players put together themselves. Larxene and I were on the school team. That's…kinda how we met.

"Our team had these two guys, both really good at tennis. They were tired, so they went in first to shower. After one more game, which we won if I remember right…"

"Come on, Saїx. You say every game you played you won."

"Anyway, after that last game, the team went to the showers. When we went in, we saw the two guys on the floor with water running over them. They were kissing and holding each other quite provocatively. When we saw them, we were stunned. Do you know what we did after that?"

"You accepted them for who they were applauded their courage?" I guessed.

"Naw. We beat the shit out of 'em," Saїx continued. I was the one to cringe this time.

"Where exactly is this going?" Riku asked.

"A place we think would be beneficial for both of you," Larxene snapped.

"Continuing," Saїx said, "we ran them off and told them to never play on our team again.

"Then, the very next day, they came back. They said they weren't backing down. So, they took on two teams at once, all by themselves. And they won. Only let a few balls go by. That was when the rest of the team accepted them." Saїx ruffled my hair with a silly grin on his face. "Kick some major ass in the game tomorrow, and I'm sure people will accept you."

The words of Xefeclorn echoed in my mind. _"__Look – if you want to be accepted by the pricks at this place, you have to do something really cool."_

For reasons unknown to me, I said, "Thanks."

Saïx and Larxene seemed surprised, too, but they smiled. "Don't expect to win in the game, though," Larxene said. "There's no way you're beating us."

"You'll find out," Riku said, "that we're a force to be reckoned with."

"I know you are," Saïx replied. "Let's just see how far you've come…"

Riku and I smiled and waved before leaving. Honestly, I didn't care if I was skipping detention…

"Damn!" I exclaimed. "Detention! I'll never be able to play in the game with Gallagher riding my back!"

I felt something kiss my cheek. Riku gave me a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about it. I bet something'll come along."

Deep down in my stomach, a pit was building. But, for some reason, I believed Riku. Well, that's because I loved him…

Pecking him back, I exited the school building and went home.


	9. At Home

It was around 6. I found myself alone in the house; the rest of the family (Mom, Dad, Kairi, and Roxas) had gone out to dinner. Under normal circumstances, I would've gone with them. However, my stomach felt queasy over going out into public what with everything that was going on.

My stomach also growled hungrily. Sure, even though I _told_ them I wasn't hungry, that I'd rather stay home and do my homework and eat on my own time, didn't mean I wasn't starving. Part of me wanted to go make some instant ramen, but my body was debating it. My mouth was sore from frenching Riku, but it felt like I was going to die from lack of food any second.

For some reason, my feet did that revving-up circle-y thing that happens in the Looney Tunes. Once I finally moved, I was speeding around the kitchen, setting up a 4-course feast.

…Or a plain turkey sandwich.

That thing was gone in less than a minute. It almost literally melted in my mouth because of the amount of saliva. It didn't really do anything to satisfy my hunger, but meh…'twas a start.

I went into the living room and turned on Guitar Hero III. Starting up my band, Lollipop Extravaganza (and I didn't realize I was gay because of this?), I was determined to beat Knights of Cydonia on Expert. As I was about to start, I heard a knock on the door. Pausing the game, swearing under my breath, and putting the plastic Les Paul down, I walked casually to the door.

My hand reached the knob, and I flung the door open. "I already said I don't want a subscription to Vogue!"

Samcyxk's shocked expression made me come to my senses. I brought my arm down and stared at him. "…What do you want?"

His arms were behind his back, and he looked at the ground. Turning up to my eye level, I could easily pick out the sorrow in his eyes. Kinda like how I picked out boogers in 3rd grade. "Sora…I wanted to come over to tell you how sorry I am, from the bottom of my heart."

I furled my brow. "Riku may not know what you did, but I do. And I don't want you to try and wriggle your way back into my good graces like the worm you are!"

"But-!" I slammed the door shut before he could protest. It was only afterward that I realized how cold I'd been; but it was how I felt. How could I let someone who had nearly molested me back into my life?

"Ding-dong!" I cringed as the doorbell rang. If Samcyxk thought I was stupid enough to believe it wasn't him, he had another thing coming. "Ding-dong!" Smiling, I leaned up against the wall.

"Ding-dong!"

"I'll keep doing this until you let me in!" "Ding-dong!" I raised an eyebrow.

"Ding-dong!" "I can keep this up all night!"

"Yeah, right!" I retorted through a series of doorbell rings. "Isn't your mommy gonna wonder where you are?"

"Too drunk!" "Ding-dong!"

"Your dad?" "Ding-dong!"

"Stoned out of his freakin' mind!" "Ding-dong!"

At this point, I conceded to the fact that he really _could_ keep it up all night. Sighing, I went "Ding-dong!" to the door, and rested my "Ding-dong!" hand on the knob, and "Ding-dong!" opened the door.

Samcyxk's face hadn't changed at all. "Why should I let you in?"

"When you punched Selven…" He let out a small breath and looked away. His eyes closed. "I lost it." Head whipping back around, Samcyxk eyes pleaded with mine. "When you see the one you love the most in the entire world get hurt, you don't just let it go! I…I don't know! I whited out when I saw you in the hallway! When I came to, well…" I didn't need him reminding me of that little taste of madness I'd had.

"I did everything I could to clean up the wounds," he said. "You were bleeding all over the place. Thankfully, duct tape helps staunch bleeding."

"Staunch?" I asked. "I was bleeding like a gutted pig in the bathtub."

"Oh, wow. Way to go on opening your wounds back up." He gave me a sarcastic thumbs-up. "That's so like you."

"By the way, I'm still not convinced."

"Look, I admitted I overreacted!...Anyway, They took Selven to the hospital and got her patched up in a few hours. She's just fine, but back then I thought…I thought you'd really hurt her." He clenched his teeth, then took another swipe. "What if I had sent Riku flying across the room? What would you do?"

I prepared to answer, but fell silent. "I…" At that moment, I knew I could no longer be mad at Samcyxk for taking the action he had. "I'd beat the shit out of you…" I couldn't be sad for long, though. Putting on a grin, I said, "Come on in."

A little blush found its way onto the boy's cheeks as he smiled. "Thanks." He stepped in. Of course, I'd noticed long ago he was wearing a black coat. Unzipping it, he asked, "Where do I hang this up." I pointed my thumb at a closet, then immediately dropped it to my side, as with my jaw.

Samcyxk had taken his coat off to the reveal the sexiest muscle shirt I had ever seen. It was dark blue, but almost didn't cover up anything. The thing was form-fitting, and left nothing to one's imagination. Damn, this was practically seeing him half-naked.

After putting his coat away, he said, "Oh, yeah. I talked about this with Gallagher." My ears perked up.

"And…?"

"He let you off of detention!" Samcyxk told me happily. "You can play tomorrow!"

Riku had been right. Something had come along, and it was just what I'd been looking for.

"Oh! Is that Guitar Hero?!" Samcyxk bounded over to the guitar, and quickly let the strap fall against his shoulder.

"Yeah…" I replied, going over into the living room. "But I doubt you can beat this song."

"Really?" He unpaused, and I wasn't impressed until he got to the vocal entrance without missing a note. That would continue up until the solo, where he got the brunt of his missed notes. At the end of the song, he'd hit 98 percent. My mouth was wide open.

"H…How did you do that?!"

"Easy," he replied, looking my way. "I practice."

* * *

Later on (only about 45 minutes, actually) we were up in my room. Well, it was technically my room, but I shared it with a few crows that came and went, and my own dirty thoughts. Samcyxk and I sat on my bed.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Wow. I would never have expected you to be so good at Guitar Hero."

"Not many people do. Whenever I play Rock Band with people, they want me as the lead singer; almost everyone isn't that good at guitar, but they have voices." He sighed. "So I practice on my own non-party, non-going wild time. That, and I hear the school's gonna be having a Guitar Hero tournament later on in the year."

"Really?" I didn't consider myself good, but I could do a tournament. Especially if I didn't have to pay to enter.

In fact, I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I didn't notice Samcyxk scooting closer to me, and I didn't see him reach his arms out. All I knew right then was:

Tournament coming this y-HOLD ON!

Samcyxk shoved me down into the sheets, holding my wrists and pinning me helplessly. He threw his head forward, and he…kissed me? I mean, EEEWWWW, GROSS! SAMCYXK GERMS!!

My eyes crossed as they stared at him, and I could feel his tongue wrestling my own. God, it felt good.

After a minute, he finally ended the kiss…not that I wanted it to end by that point, but still…His eyes sparkled. "All I wanted was one little kiss before Riku got you all to himself."

That made me smile; I knew I had a good friend in Samcyxk. Sure, a bit lusty and bi, but he was as loyal as they came.

Except when you hit his girlfriend. I guess.

"Well, I should probably get going," he said. He got up, letting me go, and stretched. Attention, toilet paper: come to me now. I need you to wipe up this blood squirting from my nose.

We went downstairs, he got his coat and put it back on. I opened the door for him, and he left.

"Oh. Right. One more thing." He looked back at me. "At the game tomorrow, at the 7th inning stretch; the band and I are gonna play a few numbers." He smirked. "Make sure you get Riku to dance with you. We've picked out some songs that are just perfect for you guys." I blushed crimson as he hopped down the road.

I couldn't help but shake my head. That guy was crazy. But he was a good guy.

Now all there was left to do was wait until tomorrow, when the teachers would finally get what was too long overdue.


	10. 7th Inning Stretch

"You what?!"

Even though Selven's voice was low, I don't think she realized I was sitting right next to them. She had a small stitch on her lip, and had to have a tooth replacement, but that was it – it was almost as if nothing had ever happened.

I could feel Samcyxk's guilty-yet-gleeful grin. "Look, I said it was impulsive; I'd never do that on purpose. Sora's Riku's boy now, and you're the only one for me."

"I still don't think it was right to kiss him, even if you weren't doing it on purpose."

"No. It wasn't, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it."

There was a noise and a crack of something. "Oww…That was one hard slap…But still, you have to admit he's cute."

My eyes wandered from the book we were supposed to be reading to Selven. She sighed, even turning a little pink. "Yes, I'll admit that Sora is a little bishi. But I'd never dream of doing that."

Samcyxk's mouth met hers, and she immediately shut up. When they disengaged, Sam told her, "Let's put all that behind us. Sora nd I have, and the two of us need to be at peak performance level for the 7th inning stretch."

"Yeah…I love you, Samcyxk."

"I love you, too…" That was when I looked away, convinced the next thing they'd do wouldn't be a tiny "be quiet" smooch. I stuck out my tongue, but I forgot to cover my ears – I could still hear them…

* * *

The day had flown by quickly, like the baked beans in a cafeteria food fight that I'd started once. It was dripping with a viscous rust-tinted liquid, and contained solid parts, but it was, for the most part, small and uneventful…until it hit someone's face. Okay, so that part wasn't a metaphor, but seeing baked bean juice all over Wakka's face was hilarious.

Now I found myself standing in right field, in a uniform that itched all over. Maybe, though, that was just my body and its uncontained anxiety. The teachers were coming up in the top of the 1st, and it was Luxord Coranada to lead things off.

He hit the first pitch Samcyxk threw to third base, and though he was slow, he somehow managed to beat the ball out. I could've sworn, though, that the ball was practically in Tidus' glove when Luxord wasn't even at the base, but in the blink of an eye he was slowing down to a stop down the line.

"Safe!" came Xefeclorn's call. She was first base umpire, and even though she was supposed to know all the plays and eye them carefully, she looked as confused as everyone else. Had time stopped and allowed Luxord to make it?

Nonsense. You can't stop time. Especially not Luxord. What kind of a joke is that?!

After Luxord's bizarre single, Saїx stepped up to the plate, waving his bat back and forth. His smile was unsettling; it was like he somehow knew something we didn't. Samcyxk's first pitch was a heater, and his second was a changeup that caught our coach completely off guard. But the third pitch wasn't destined to be a strike.

For one, it was down low and out of the zone. Somehow, Saїx made contact and ripped it fair down the left field line. He paraded into second with a smug grin while Luxord took third.

We got Larxene and Nurse Xigbar out, though the Nurse's was a close call. Finally, weirdo Zexion stood at home plate, talking to his bat. After long minutes of wooing a piece of wood had passed, he finally got into position.

The pitch came, and he swung and missed. Our catcher, Wakka, went to throw the ball back, but couldn't find it.

"Yoo hoo!" Zexion waved to him at first. He had a huge smile. "Missing something?!"

"There it is!" Samcyxk shouted. The ball was lying in front of Wakka, and our pitcher rushed to get it; Saїx was running in from third. Samcyxk saw this, and I could see the indecision written all over his face. Nevertheless, he scooped the ball up and dove.

Saїx was, without a doubt, out at the plate. Samcyxk had made a stellar play, and minimized the damage to only one run.

But our troubles had only just begun. Our team got no runs in the first five innings, and the teachers banged out two more. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, it was our turn to shine.

I was standing on second, part of the three-man team that loaded the bases. Up walked Riku to home plate, twirling the bat confidently. He got into position, and stared at the emerald eyes of the teachers' pitcher, Axel Korrigan.

"Swing that bat," Axel said as he went through his windup. Then he unleashed a massively quick fastball that I could barely keep up with.

"SMACK!"

I had to crane my neck upwards to see the baseball carrying towards the back wall. Xaldin Merriman, the psychology teacher, sprinted back, his eyes glued to the image of the small sphere hurtling over his head.

A foul wind began to blow. It shot into the field at full throttle, nearly knocking me out of the base line. Alas, it wasn't enough to keep Riku's monster hit in the park; it sailed over the fence, and just like that, we had taken the lead.

Cheers erupted from the sidelines as everyone came in to score. The entire team crowded home plate, and as Riku stepped on it, we jumped on him, causing him to fall to his knees. Even though it was only the sixth, it was incredible that we were beating the teachers.

Those would be the only four runs we got in the inning. The teachers were kept at bay in the 7th, and then it came: the 7th inning stretch that Samcyxk had told me so heartily about.

First, there came the familiar chorus of Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Just as the song was beginning, a large stage was being wheeled out to the middle of the infield. It didn't appear all that heavy, because only a few people were pushing. It had red curtains hanging from it, and kept a slight mysterious air about it.

Once our voices quieted, silence reigned for only a moment. There came the low buzz of speakers being turned on, and then the lights that flooded the field began to darken until it was almost impossible to see through the shadow-drenched night; it was like looking at sweat pools on someone's shirt and trying to decipher what color it had originally been.

There was a low hiss, and we all heard the curtain draw back. Then, the sound of wind chimes filled the stadium.

Light filled the area around as the sound of guitar filled our ears. There, on the stage, was Samcyxk in his street clothes, along with Xefeclorn, Taxmt, and Selven. There was a very short intro into the song before the vocals began.

"I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow…And each road leads you where you wanna go…" Samcyxk had a voice that was pure as rain, and was very beautiful. "And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose…I hope you choose the one that means the most to you…"

Slowly, the stands began emptying; people were going out onto the field to enjoy the musical show Samcyxk's band was putting on – most began dancing. I saw Saїx and Larxene come out holding hands amidst many whistles and high-pitched squeals.

I looked at Riku, and I could see the sweat drops running down his forehead; was he thinking what I was thinking? Of course I wanted to ask him for a dance, but I was so damn nervous and afraid of everyone's reaction.

"My wish…for you…is that this life becomes all that you want it to! Your dreams stave in; your worries stay small…! You never need to carry more than you can hold! And while you're out there getting where you're getting to…I hope you know somebody loves you! Yeah…this…is my wish…" Samcyxk belted out the chorus in a classic tone, and I remembered that he had specifically told me the band had picked out songs for Riku and I.

So I looked to my best friend…the one I loved. He turned to me, and half the team was fixated on us. I got up, and took a deep breath. "Riku…" There was a glint in his eyes, a hopeful shine.

"…Will you…dance with me?" Naturally I'd never danced a step in my life, but there wasn't going to be a better time to learn.

The team gasped, and did so once again as Riku got up and took my hands. "I thought you'd never ask."

The two of us walked out of the dugout hand-in-hand as everyone stopped and turned to us. The music slowed for a moment as we nodded to each other. The guitar started up again. Samcyxk repeated the chorus with added gusto as Riku and I began to dance. Some people cheered; everyone else kept on enjoying the music.

Then, the song came to its close, and I realized that time was flying while the two of us danced. The field went quiet as Samcyxk spoke into the microphone. "This next song's for all you slow lovers out there." He winked at me, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know he was up to something.

The all-too-obvious opening riff of Cat Scratch Fever gave it away. Xefeclorn began to rock out on her Firebird.

"Just kidding!"

The guitar continued for a few more seconds before Samcyxk added his impression of Ted Nugent, which was quite well done…something Frank Caliendo could never do. That song went on, and Xefeclorn added a bit more to the solo, and before I knew it, it was over.

Onstage, Samcyxk had pulled out a cowbell. He began banging it while Selven added percussion to the mix; Taxmt and Xefeclorn came in only seconds later with guitar work. I couldn't place the song until Samcyxk sang the opening lines.

"Have you seen her? So fine and pretty…fooled me with her style and ease. And I feel her from ACROSS the room! Yes, it's love in the third degree!"

It was one of the only light songs from Van Halen. But Dance the Night Away was the perfect ballad for what Riku and I were feeling. It was one of my favorites, and I had never heard a better cover.

Finally, when that was over, Samcyxk announced there was one piece left. The lights began to dim until a sort of limelight shone on the stage. Selven began a military-style soft drumming pattern that was followed by Xefeclorn's guitar, though this was mellower and sounded more like a violin.

It seemed like minutes before Samcyxk started talking into the microphone in his gorgeous, melodic voice. "I could stay awake…just to hear you breathin'…Watch you smile when you are sleepin'…While your far away and dreamin'…I could spend my life in this sweet surrender…I could stay lost in this moment…forever…Where a moment spent with you is a moment I treasure…!"

There were numerous whoops coming from the audience, and I couldn't help but join in. This was only one of the most famous songs ever created, and the band did an amazing job on it.

"I don't wanna close my eyes…I don't wanna fall asleep, 'cause I'd miss you, baby…And I don't wanna miss a thing! 'Cause even when I dream of you…The sweetest dream would never do. I'd still miss you, baby, and I don't wanna miss a thing…!"

Riku and I began a slow dance, and I let my head rest on his chest. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head.

"Lyin' close to you…Feeling your heart beatin'! And I'm wonderin' what you're dreamin'…Wonderin' if it's me you're seeing! Then I kiss your eyes…" Riku did. "…And thank God we're together! I just wanna stay with you in this moment forever. Forever and ever!"

Tears welled up in my eyes; this song spoke the words I myself could not find in my voice to tell Riku myself. I looked up at him, and we were thinking the exact same thing. We leaned in close and kissed.

"Hey, I don't wanna miss one smile…I don't wanna miss on kiss…I just wanna be with you, right here with you…just like this…I just wanna hold you close…Feel your heart so close to mine…And just stay here in this moment for all the rest of time. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! YEEEAAHHHHH!!" Confetti shot out of cannons along the stage.

Throughout the final chorus, Riku and I swayed back and forth. The final strums on Xefeclorn's guitar gave me chills, but the ending was complete and utterly incredible. Everyone there burst into wild applause. The band all bowed, and the curtains were drawn.

Now everyone filed back to their places, and Riku and I went back to the dugout. Once the mess was cleaned up, I was sure that we'd go on to give the teachers their first loss. Our energy was so much that it was impossible for us to lose.

But that didn't matter right now. I looked into Riku's eyes and was hopelessly lost in an azure ocean.

* * *

Yay! Only one chapter left!

And, the songs sang by the band, The Foundation, were:

My Wish - Rascal Flatts

Cat Scratch Fever -Ted Nugent

Dance the Night Away - Van Halen

I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing- Aerosmith


	11. End of the Game

We were ahead, and the teachers were beginning to get serious…Like they weren't serious before! We had had to switch Samcyxk out because he had completely depleted his arm of strength, and Tidus had taken his place. It went without saying he wasn't as good a pitcher.

The first ball he threw was clobbered by Larxene, travelling into the left field corner. Wakka scooped it up and hurled it to second base, but she was already there, grinning.

After her, Principal Xemnas came up to bat and laid down a near perfect bunt. Larxene raced to third, and Tidus just barely got Xemnas out.

Thankfully, a freak strikeout and a pop fly got us out of the bottom of the 7th with no damage.

Back in the dugout, where Samcyxk sat, we got a little pep talk.

"This is _not _a game against the teachers," Samcyxk told us when we were all sitting casually, momentarily, on the bench. His odds struck us all as odd, because we all knew this was _the _game – the culmination of our efforts over the season.

"We're in the lead now," he continued. "We cannot, under any circumstances, lose it. Treat this like any other game against, say, Larxene's team." Now I understood. "Pretend you're not playing against them and we can do this." He stood up and patted me on the back as I put my helmet on.

"Good luck," he told me. "Give 'em hell, kid." He turned away and went back to his seat smiling. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the dugout and made my way to the plate. I was intimidated only slightly by the practice pitch, a fastball that flew by in a blur.

Gulping, I took a few practice swings and finally put each foot in the box. Small beads of sweat tumbled down my forehead, soaking my lips. My hands tightened their grip on the bat's handle.

The first pitch zoomed by me, and I didn't even register it. "Strike!" the ump called out. Clenching my teeth, I was sure my face was full of fear, like someone who's about to be dunked in a toilet. But without the toilet.

A changeup was the second pitch, and it was a bit easier to read. However, I fouled it off, nearly into Saїx's glove.

'_Come on, Sora,' _I told myself. _'You've gotta hit this ball. Who cares if your team's in the lead…?' _Sighing, I stepped out to clear my head.

'_Remember what Samsexy – I mean, what Samcyxk said. You're not up against the teachers…This is Roxas you're facing. He's easier to hit than a sandbag…'_

Newly refreshed, I stepped back in and took a practice swing. Then I knew the next one would have to be for real; with two strikes, this would be a definite pitch to get me out.

The ball came whirling at me, and I swung.

The crack of the ball on the bat was like an Independence Day firecracker – perhaps a cherry bomb in a toilet somewhere was more appropriate. But nevertheless, the ball took off.

As my mind registered that I'd hit the ball and I dropped the bat and started hard for first, I took the time to realize where the ball was. It was hurtling through the crisp air towards left field. But it had no intention of slowing, oh no it didn't.

Turning first and on my way to second, I took another glance. The small white and red sphere of cow skin was flying ever further, and then…

Samcyxk's voice rang out through the park. "Yes!!"

It was a home run, and to home plate I ran. The entire team was cheering for me as I jumped on the plate. I could easily hear Xaldin's groaning.

Coming back into the dugout, I was barraged by high-fives and claps. I worked my way to where Riku was – he grinned. "Nice hit."

"Thank you," I whispered. "I love you."

And the game continued rather uneventfully until the bottom of the ninth inning. The teachers had two outs – we were one away from the win. Unfortunately, they also had the bases juiced. A grand slam would give them another win in their record.

Xaldin stepped up to bat, great big Xaldin who could crush a pencil between two fingers instantly. Smiling to himself, he took his stance.

Turning to Riku, I grimaced – this didn't look good.

But it got even worse as Tidus' pitch was a meatball. Xaldin smacked it well, and it flew towards right center.

Riku and I both sprinted, but it appeared the ball was going over the fence. "Dammit!" Riku yelled.

"Not yet!" I cried out. "Put your hands out together!"

"What?!"

"Like this!" I brought my hands, one gloved, together, and he got it, but didn't understand why I wanted him to do so. But I did.

I leapt up and put one foot on his hands. "Help me catapult up!" I told him in a commanding voice.

Finally he got what I was up to. Using all his strength, he threw me up as I jumped. Into the cool sky I went, and the ball was coming at me. Bringing my glove out, I gracefully caught it.

Now was the part I hadn't planned on – landing. I began to fall back down to the earth and scrambled for something to hold onto.

I didn't have to. When I neared the ground, Riku caught me with both arms, and couldn't stop himself from twirling me around once.

An ump, Xefeclorn ,actually, came running out. "Show me the ball!" she screamed frantically. "Please tell me you caught the ball!"

Wrestling my arm from Riku, I held out my glove, the baseball resting in it. Xefeclorn cried out in happiness, "Out number 3!!"

The stands immediately went crazy. Xefeclorn gave me a hearty high-five, then I turned to Riku. "Thank you," I told him.

"No, thank _you_," he replied. "It was all your idea."

"That doesn't matter,' I said. "We won…We beat the teachers…" We embraced each other, and didn't stop at that – we went full blown and kissed.

The crowd fell silent. Even Xefeclorn, whom Samcyxk had probably already told. It must've become obvious that our dancing hadn't been a joke – it was real.

Then, I heard someone clapping. Straining my eyes up, I saw Kairi, who was standing and applauding.

Clapping came from the dugout, and I saw Samcyxk smiling.

Xefeclorn began clapping.

Saїx started to clap.

All of a sudden, like a great crescendo, the entire crowd began to applaud. There were w00ts and whoops and shouts of glee. It seemed everyone had finally accepted us…

* * *

As we walked down the halls the next day, everyone was saying "congratulations!" or "you guys were awesome!"

Samcyxk caught up with Riku and I. "I never got a chance to tell you in person that that was incredible."

Nodding, I shook his hand. "Thanks. Everyone was."

"But you put the nail in the coffin," he told me. "Now the teachers have their first loss!"

The final bell rang, and the front doors of the school opened up. A rush of hot air blasted us as I turned to Riku. Everyone I was really good friends with, even Xefeclorn and Taxmt, were there to hear.

"Riku…Will you go out with me?"

He hugged me in response. "I don't want to do anything else right now." I heard more clapping, probably from Samcyxk.

Disengaging the hug, we turned to the front doors. With our heads held high, we walked towards them to meet the afternoon.

* * *

That's it! It's all over! "It All Began in Gym Class" is finished!

But don't think that means that all the stories from this wacky school are done. Join us next time, for "Trust No One," the second part of the tale!


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